Pumps can be used to recirculate water in aquatic farms, such as recirculating aquaculture systems in which fish and other aquatic life are raised. Recirculating aquaculture systems generally include one or more tanks to house the fish, one or more water inlets into the tank, and one or more water outlets out of the tank. The water outlets are connected to an inlet of the pump. The pump generally propels the water through a filter and back into the tank through the water inlets.
Conventional recirculating aquaculture systems have a sizable upfront cost to design and build, and also have high operating costs that make it difficult for recirculating aquaculture farmers to compete with other types of aquaculture farms, such as ponds and net pen operations. Conventional recirculating aquaculture systems usually provide manually adjusted oxygen flow into the tank and manually adjusted water flow through the culture tank depending upon the size or requirements of the aquatic life. As a result, typical recirculating aquaculture farms spend anywhere from $100,000.00 to $1,000,000.00 in electrical cost and $1,700 to $4,000 in oxygen costs on an annual basis. In fact, the highest operating costs for recirculating aquaculture farms are feed, electricity, and oxygen.
In conventional recirculating aquaculture systems, there are several parameters that must be frequently monitored by the farmers in order to determine when feed rates for the fish may be increased. Presently, aquaculture farmers must monitor fecal output of the fish daily. Every 30 minutes to 2 hours, they must monitor the amount of feed the fish can be induced to consume. In addition, they must monitor the oxygen consumption of the fish and the culture system water constantly. Therefore, a need exists for a way in which to lower the production cost and operating cost of recirculating aquaculture systems.